How Do You Measure a Year? Kairos vs. Chronos Time

By Wendy Shenk-Evans, Director

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?”

The Gods and Goddess of Olympus are imprisoned, during The Stolen Hope.

If you were not able to attend the Upper Elementary play last week, “The Stolen Hope” was an epic tale that revolved around the trials and tribulations of a number of Greek gods and goddesses. After the performance, the playwrights said, “We would like to thank CFMS. It is only at an extraordinary school like this that we would be allowed to follow our passions and dreams to make a small history project into a year-long exploration of theater and art. We are so grateful.”

Of course, it was much more than a project in theater and art. There was great depth to the research into the various Greek gods and goddesses that enabled them to create such robust and accurate characters. The directors used their accumulated math skills to budget for play related expenses with their income from bake sales. 

The Playwrights working together on their 80 page script.

Geometry and physics were in play as they built their sets and learned that triangles provide the most stable structure. Writing and editing the 70 page script expanded their language arts foundation. Creating a year-long time table for the production of the play that included everything from casting to set building to rehearsal time called for thinking through time management and organization across a broad time horizon. And having three directors instead of one meant employing the collaboration skills they’ve been building through years of learning conflict resolution here at CFMS.

Observing this two year play process led me to my own reflections about the ancient Greeks, namely their two words for time, chronos and kairos. Chronos is quantitative and measurable.  It is marked by the ticking of the clock.  In our adult lives, we are often bound by chronos time. We need to meet work deadlines, get children to sports practices and music lessons, and allow enough time to get to work or doctor’s appointments in the midst of DC traffic.  Kairos, on the other hand, is qualitative and open ended. It is the unfolding of life with its opportunities and moments of significance. 

The Playwrights, Iansa Powell, Larkin Brady, and Mary Gunn
offer thanks after the performance. 

Most schools run on chronos time, with teachers moving from subject to subject in 40 minute increments or bells signaling when it’s time to change classes. In contrast, Montessori beckons us to pause and dwell in kairos time, time that is unbound by our constructions of how efficiently time should be used or when a particular event should transpire. There is space for a child to take 20 minutes to tie his shoes because the teacher is not anxious about getting the whole class moving on to another activity as a group. And the child then has the deep satisfaction of knowing he tied his own shoes. The expanse of the three hour work period allows the child space to explore, deepen understanding, delve in, and discover. It is fine if a child spends 2 hours on math one morning because there will be another expanse of time the next day and the next for her to work with language and geography and science. And by not being pressured to hurry up and “finish” with math to move on to something else,  she has the opportunity to develop focus and concentration and own her learning, solidifying knowledge at a pace that does not cause anxiety. By spending three years in the same classroom, children are not even pressured by the time constraint of the end of the school year. Many years Upper Elementary students begin large projects in April or May and then return to them the following September. And as expressed above in the thanks offered by the playwrights, these expanses of time are received by our students as a gift.

At this moment in calendar time each year, parents often ask what they should work on with their children over the summer.  In the midst of summer camps and swim team practices, I encourage you to find opportunities to make space for kairos moments. Even though you can cook a meal in 30 minutes, you might choose a Saturday where you could block off 3 hours so that your child can participate in the meal preparation as independently as possible without you feeling the need to rush them. You could go for a walk without a particular destination or timetable. Your child might only go a block and sit and stare at a busy anthill for twenty minutes before proceeding on. Our children naturally dwell in kairos time, and when we can allow that to happen, it is a gift, not only to them, but to us as well. Have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in August!